‘Pflum's Best’ is a new and distinct variety of avocado tree Persea americana Mill. During the 1980s, the inventor chose two varieties known for their commercial value, ‘Choquette’ (not patented) and ‘Brogdon’ (not patented), and cross-pollinated them to produce a first generation (F1) of hybrid avocado trees in Princeton, Fla. Some of the seedlings were selected because they exhibited faster growth and increased tolerance to dampness, poorly-drained soil, and cold temperatures. The selected seedlings were grown to maturity, at which time it was discovered that the selected variety, named ‘Pflum's Best’, produces large, maroon-skinned fruit very early in the season (in August to September). Further, the variety displays vigorous growth and is very precocious, producing fruit at one to five years when grown from seed.
The male parent, ‘Brogdon,’ is a Mexican or Mexican hybrid having a “B type’ flowers and small, pear-shaped fruit with pebbled dark purple to black skin. The fruit has a superb buttery flavor and is commonly used for guacamole. In addition to having a high tolerance to cold (this variety is cold hardy to approximately 22° F.), good pest and disease resistance (although moderately susceptible to scab, Sphaceloma perseae), and excellent toleration of drought, heat, and humidity, ‘Brogdon’ exhibits a relatively early fruiting season (mid-July to mid-September). However, the crop consistency and quantity may be low and ‘Brogdon’ can be easily damaged by wet soil and the associated Phytophthora spp. (such as P. cinnamomi). The female parent, ‘Choquette,’ is a popular variety with both commercial growers and homeowners. ‘Choquette’ is a Guatemalan/West Indian hybrid having “A type” flowers and large, high quality, oval fruit with glossy, bright to dark green skin. Although ‘Choquette’ produces a high yield in alternate years and displays vigorous growth, it does not exhibit quite the cold and disease resistance of ‘Brogdon’ (freeze damage occurs below 26° F.) and fruits much later in the season (late October to mid-January).
The inventor first cross-pollinated ‘Brogdon’ and ‘Choquette’ in 1989 in an effort to produce an avocado variety having the best qualities of each parent. F1 generation seedlings and young trees were selected for vigorous growth and disease hardiness, and then mature F1 adults were further selected for distinct fruit characteristics and early fruiting season. The resulting group, first defined in Princeton, Fla., in 1992, was named ‘Pflum's Best.’ This variety was first asexually propagated in 1990 in Palm City, Fla. using a lateral grafting technique and ‘Walden’ rootstock (not patented), and has since been observed to remain true to type over successive asexually propagated generations.